TALES FROM THE SHED
Casting caution to wherever caution gets cast to (and there must be a lot of it there, wherever it is) I ordered a shiny new Amal 389 Monobloc carb for the most excellent Matchless which is in pride of place on the bench. Of course I did. Expensive, however, at around £250, but grim experience prevented me from buying a used one online (unseen only, of course, which can have unfortunate results), and the lack of local jumbles means that I can’t find one locally to actually examine before purchase. The new device arrived pronto, prompting me to detach the throttle and choke cables from the original. Easy stuff, correct?
Of course the cables aren’t either original or indeed right for the bike / carb /control arrangement. No problem at all, I’ll just order new ones. Except. My usual sources are unable to supply them. Investigation and conversation suggests that demand for AMC lightweight parts is so low that it’s not worth investing the money needed to have some made. Curious. Happily, the throttle cable is serviceable, so I just clean it out, lubricate it and fit it to the twistgrip. Did you know that there’s more than one nipple size for 1960s twistgrips? We do now, you and I.
The choke cable is a minor mystery, and I will need to find another. Probably a generic cable which will be either far too long or not quite long enough. So it goes. Who uses the choke anyway? But while I
